James R | On 28, Mar 2021

The BBC and Sky Sports have scored the rights to Women’s Super League football ahead of the new season this September.

The new rights deals cover the next three years and will see league games broadcast on BBC One and BBC Two, marking the first time in the sport’s history that the Beeb shows a minimum of 18 live games from Women’s Super League on free-to-air network television – previously, these have been broadcast on Red Button and BBC iPlayer.

Alongside the live league games, there will also be continued live FA Cup coverage, Team GB’s journey in the Summer Olympics, regular WSL highlights on The Women’s Football Show, goals and highlights on the BBC Sport website and social channels, 5 Live commentary of select games, The Players Podcast and the upcoming Women’s UEFA European 2022 tournament, where every game will be broadcast on the BBC.

Sky Sports, meanwhile, will air 35 live matches per season. The acquisition by Sky Sports is the first commercial broadcast deal of its kind for the FA-owned league, considered to be the best women’s league in Europe. The Women’s Super League will get the full Sky Sports treatment with lengthy build-ups and reaction to all live matches, plus daily news from the competition across Sky Sports News and Sky Sports digital platforms.

Barbara Slater, Director of BBC Sport, says: “This is fantastic news for sports fans and for women’s football. We are delighted to offer the WSL a free-to-air platform to ensure the sport, and the players, connect with the widest possible audience. With EURO 2022 on the horizon, giving fans more opportunities to watch Women’s Super League will build the excitement for a home tournament.”

Kathryn Swarbrick, FA Director of Commercial and Marketing, adds of the Sky deal: “We are absolutely thrilled to have secured this game-changing partnership that will ensure the Barclays FA Women’s Super League becomes more visible than ever before. Sky’s vision for women’s football is very much aligned with our own, and that was made clear during the tender process where they outlined some very exciting plans for showcasing the Barclays Women’s Super League. We are really looking forward to working with them.”

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